Replies

St. Philip and St. James

Feast Day: May 03
Born: (around the time of Jesus) :: Died: (in the first century)

Philip and James were two of Jesus' twelve apostles.

Philip was born at Bethsaida, in Galilee and was one of the first apostles. He was a follower of John the Baptist. When Jesus found him and said, "Follow me", Philip obeyed immediately. He was so happy to be with Jesus that he wanted to share his joy with his friend, Nathaniel. "We have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about," Philip said. "He is Jesus of Nazareth."

Nathaniel did not believe him as Nazareth was only a little village, not big and important like Jerusalem. But Philip forgave his friend for his lack of faith and just said, "Come and see." Nathaniel went to see Jesus and after he had spoken with him, he, too, became an eager follower of the Lord.

After Jesus died, Philip traveled to Greece and Asia Minor preaching the good news of salvation. He was finally killed for his faith in Jesus at Hierapolis in Phrygia around the year 80.

St. James who was the cousin of Jesus, was the son of Alpheus and brother of St. Jude Thaddeus. After Jesus ascended into heaven, James was made the bishop of Jerusalem.

People had a great respect for him and called him "James the Just," which means "James the Holy One." He is also called "James the Less," because he was younger than the other apostle named James. That apostle they called "James the Greater" because he was older.

St. James was very gentle and forgiving. He prayed a lot and begged God to forgive the people who tortured him and the other followers of Jesus. Even when the enemies of Jesus came to kill him, he asked God to pardon them. St. James was thrown down from a pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem and then beaten to death in the year 62.

Reflection: Would I be an apostle of Jesus today and share the Good News of how special Jesus is for me?